Clubs all over the USA celebrated National Chess
Day with parties and chess tournaments, including the Chicago Chess Festival which featured a
proclamation by mayor Richard M. Daley. Check out some of the fun in the first
of several National Chess Day round-ups on CLO.

The US Armed Forces
Open in also in full swing at Andrews Air Force Base. Also in attendance was USCF board member Michael Atkins, who was integral in getting the resolution to declare NCD an official holiday (see the PDF of the Senate Resolution here). Atkins wished the players a Happy National Chess Day, and he took the following shot of the tournament hall.

The US Armed Forces Open

National Chess Day-Eve in Memphis
by Korey Kormick

Memphis,
Tennessee got into the National Chess Day spirit with a full weekend of
chess-filled excitement, starting with the Chess Day-Eve Party! With Face
Painting, Carnival Games, plenty of Cake & Prizes-everyone wanted to come
out and play.

Korey Kormick teaching chess

Shelby County Chess along with Cajun Chess sponsored the
festivities, and chess fanatics from ages five to sixty-five could be faced
with a new opponent in the quick chess tournament, become a pawn-eating tiger,
or join in a chorus that was supposed to be "Happy Chess Day" that somehow
became "Happy Birthday, Chess!"

Chicago Chess Festival
by David Heiser

On
National Chess Day Chicago was blessed with a warm and sunny day while
Renaissance Knights Chess Foundation held the inaugural Chicago Chess Festival
at Wilbur Wright College. There were a total of 42 participants
ranging from first time tournament players to players with more than 30 years
of tournament experience. 21 Chicago Public School students were provided
with free entry from Renaissance Knights Chess Foundation, 15 of who had never
played in a USCF rated event before.

This
was a special day for chess in Chicago as Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley had
proclaimed October 9th as Chess Day in Chicago. Mayor Daley
has been a long time supporter of chess programs in Chicago and in December
Renaissance Knights Chess Foundation sponsors an annual Chess Tournament named
after him.
The
competition was fierce going into the last round, but only one player emerged
at the top of each section taking clear first place. Top honors went to
Vishal Chandrasekar in the K-2 section with 4 point, Ricky Wang in the K-5
section with 4 points, Aman Grover in the K-8 section with 4 points, and up and
coming Steven Matthew in the Open section with 3.5 points Congratulations to
all of our winners!

We celebrated our Grand Opening yesterday with a bang!
At 10:30am Skokie Mayor, Mr. George Van Dusen, cut the ribbon marking a new day
in the life of those in the Village of Skokie and also in the chess community.
Over 30 people cheered on and the festivities continued from there.

Grandmaster Mesgen Amanov took on all comers in a 21 board simul and even
satisfied those that came in late allowing them an opportunity to participate
in our beloved mind sport. GM Amanov bulldozed the competition with a score of
20-1-0 (20 wins, 1 draw, no losses).

After a short (very short) intermission, we began our Game 15 quick rated
tournament which was played in a single open section so even the lower rated
players could take on stronger competition. Matt Pullin of Evanston took home
first place with a perfect score of 4-0. The tournament was rated before
midnight last night.

Finally FIDE Master Gauri Shankar and his older brother International Master
Arjun Vishnuvardhan gave a group lesson using our newly installed 50"
Plasma TV's and wireless video broadcast system. They reviewed two of their
critical games from this seasons Chicago Blaze chess matches.

On Sunday October 10 beginning at 1pm
we will host a 4R-SS Game/30 + 30/sec increment tournament. USCF membership
will be required.

The address of the North Shore Chess Center is 5500 West Touhy Ave Suite A,
Skokie, IL 60077. You turn on Linder Street from Touhy. The parking lot
entrance is on Linder, but the Chess Center faces Touhy. We are directly across
the street from Pet Smart. We are about 3 blocks west of the Holiday Inn on the
same side of the street.
Look for more reports this coming week and
contribute your own to jshahade@uschess.org